Inside the Star

DAS Canada: Canada Needs to Make Justice More Accessible to the Public

It’s a problem Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, Beverley McLachlin, presented at the Canadian Bar Association’s annual conference in Augustlas. And a company called DAS Canada thinks it has — at least when it comes to businesses — the answer.

It’s a problem Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, Beverley McLachlin, presented at the Canadian Bar Association’s annual conference in August. And a company called DAS Canada thinks it has — at least when it comes to businesses — the answer.

The company, part of the larger Germany-based DAS Group, offers legal expense insurance to entrepreneurs and businesses that might not otherwise be able to afford full legal services. With premiums starting at $250 per year and currently averaging $750 per year, companies are given affordable access to lawyer services. Plus, DAS Canada gives their clients access to a legal advice hotline so they can receive guidance on how to proceed with a range of legal matters, 24 hours a day.

The service covers everything from employment disputes — such as wrongful dismissal or alleged discrimination — license and property protection, contract issues, and even bodily injury.

"[Our service is] like having a lawyer on retainer," says DAS Canada president Barbara Haynes.
For a base annual fee, she says, businesses are “able to have [affordable and prompt] access to a lawyer either for advice, or pursuing or defending an action.”

DAS Canada has been in the country since 2010, but has only recently seen an uptick in business as more Canadians become aware of both the service and its importance.

“People aren’t familiar with the concept, so it takes a while to get their heads around it,” says Haynes. “In Europe people buy legal expense insurance the same as they do for their home property and liability. Most people there just think, ‘This is something I need.’”

Canadians simply don’t see legal expense insurance as important — at least, not yet.

Fred Newman, owner of the Imperial Pub located just off Younge-Dundas square in downtown Toronto, has mixed feelings about DAS and its service.

“The idea of it is terrific,” Newman says. “It seems like a service that is certainly valuable. ‘Need’ is a whole different word, but valuable for sure.”

And there are plenty of business owners in Canada who consider such insurance totally unnecessary.

“I wouldn’t be interested in this even though I recently used the services of a lawyer,” says Jim Deva, co-owner of Vancouver's Little Sister bookstore and Sweet Adult Boutique, the former of which was recently involved in a court case surrounding alleged unpaid rent.

He says Canadian small businesses simply have too many expenses already, and that adding possible litigation to the list is a very low priority for most people. He’d rather see entrepreneurs avoid law suits with good business practices.

“I hope [needing a lawyer] is not pointing towards the future of small businesses,” he says.

Still, even skeptical business owners like Newman see the benefit of DAS' service.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.